A shrew recorded in the north-central Ecuadorian Andes. Its habitat is described as apparently wet tropical montane forest and páramo. The back is dark blackish-brown, with a paler underside.
The dorsal fur is dark blackish-brown, while the underside is paler.
Osgood’s Small-eared Shrew inhabits Ecuador’s Andes, including mountain-forest remnants near settlements.
A 2025 study documented a feeding link with the Great Horned Owl. Between 2022 and 2024, researchers collected 89 pellets beneath a tree used by two adults on the western slopes of Antisana volcano. The pellets contained bones and other prey remains.
Including fragmented pellet material, comparisons of skulls and jaws with museum reference material revealed at least 197 prey individuals in all. One was identified as Osgood’s Small-eared Shrew, in material collected in January 2024. Its small bones connected an inconspicuous mountain mammal with a bird hunting from above.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The Tambillo Alto survey, published in 2022, described strong human pressure around the two mountain-forest remnants where this shrew was captured. The author recommended conserving these remnants, which support Ecuadorian endemics, and continuing surveys.